The art of engraving precious stones at the earlier periods of the Egyptian monarchy was comparatively unknown, although beads were cut out of almost every known stone. For the pur pose of seals, however, and for intaglia, steatite scarabaei were generally used, and engraved gems are either of the greatest rarity or of sus picious genuineness till the time of the Ptolemies. A very remarkable exception to this rule is a square signet of yellow jasper, engraved with the name and titles of Amenophis II. (about B.C. 1450) and his horse, in the British Museum. Figurines of deities and animals were, however, numerous, and were carved out of amethysts, emeralds, agates, sardonyx, carnelian, obsidian, hamatite, lapis lazuli, etc. There are in museums numerous cats, lions, crocodiles, eagles, frogs, hippopotami, and other symbols. Under the Ptolemies and Romans, the Gnostic gems, called abraxas, generally of lapis lazuli, bloodstone, and jasper, begin to appear, but these are made by the same process as the Greek, from which they were derived. The Ethiopians, according to Herodotus, engraved signets. But the earliest engraved gems were those of the Babylonians, always, until a late period, in the form of cylin ders from one to two inches long and about one half or three-quarters of an inch thick, pierced through their long axis for a cord or pin, and used for impressing the sign-manual by rolling on soft clay. Their universal use multiplied them to such an extent that they form our main source of information as to the periods and themes of Babylonian sculpture; the favorite theme was the figures of the patron god and goddess being worshiped by the owners of the gem, and the fig ures are arranged in a single frieze-like row. There are also many scenes purely mythological, such as the legends of Gilgamesh, the Babylonian Hercules, of Merodach, of Samas, of Raman, and other deities. The seals of the ancient Kings Sargani (c. 3850 ma), Naramsin (c. 3800), and Ur-gur (c. 2800 B.c.) are of good art, as are those of Gilgamesh breaking the lion's back, of the captives of Erech, etc. In style there were many schools and periods, at opposite poles of art, but their history is obscure. There is a radical difference in the technique of Assyrian gem-cutting; the outlines are sharp instead of rounded and the details very clear, there is less use of the nude, and a narrower range of themes. It was the Assyrian style which most influenced the gem-cutting of Persia; the seal of Darius, with the King in his war-chariot, is only a puny copy of the corresponding spirited Assyrian scenes. In late Assyrian times the rolling cylin der was partly replaced by the conical signet with figures cut on the base. All the Orient had copied Babylonian models. The Phoenicians, Hittites, Syrians, and other races all used cylin ders of similar style. A cruder style, with ani mals and heads, came into vogue under the Par thians, often accompanied with Pahlavi inscrip tions, and these probably continued till the rise of Mohammedanism in the East, when the art was confined to the engraving of Cufic legends on the most valuable of Oriental stones, often with a great degree of dexterity. Before this time there had been. introduced a greater variety in the form of the cut gems, conical chalcedonies, and other stones, hemispherical agates, convex stones en cabochon, such as garnets, sards, car buncles, engraved on their upper surface. In Judea the use of signets (see SEAL) prevailed, and the most important known instance is the Urim and Thummim, or breastplate of the High Priest, consisting of twelve precious stones, en graved with the names of the twelve tribes; but no Hebrew engraved stones earlier than the fifth or sixth century n.c. are known. Among the other Oriental nations, the Iranians and Hindus seem to have exercised the art of engrav ing on stones, although no works of great merit of these nations have been found. Of other na tions of antiquity, the Chinese only had seals of crystal, soapstone, porcelain, and other sub stances, with devices in relief for using as stamps, the subjects being mottoes from poeti cal and other works.
Archeological research has shown that the Greeks cut gems at a very early date. The first or ilyeenman period used animals, flowers, and hunting scenes, fishes and marine plants; the sec ond or Oriental period (c. 900-700 n.c.) intro duced the human figure' and mythological scenes more freely; the third or Archaic period (me. 700-500) shows the influence of large sculpture and coins; the fourth or developed period (500 320) produced certain great artists, like Athe nades,Dexamenus, Phrygillus, Olympius, and Ona tas, whose work corresponds on a small scale to the golden age of monumental sculpture. Finally the fifth or Hellenistic age, beginning with Pyrgo teles, privileged to work for Alexander the Great, was the age of high finish, dramatic style, and love of the grandiose, so that it fitly saw the use of the art of cameo-cutting, and the use of large heads and elaborate compositions. The Greeks, at the earliest period, are not supposed to have employed engraved stones for their signets, the earliest rings being of solid metal, such as the legendary ring of Minos; but at a later mytholog ical period those of Helen, Ulysses, and Gyges are said to have had engraved stones. Orestes, in the tragedies, is also recognized as the son of Agamemnon by his engraved ring; and Mnesar chits, the father of Pythagoras, who lived about tic. 600, was an engraver of gems. The earliest instance of an engraved gem is the emerald ring of Polycrates, set in gold or engraved by Theo dorus of Samos about n.c. 540; while the laws of Solon against counterfeiting signets show that they had been in early use. At the period of the Persian wars they were by no means uncommon. Later. the writings of the Platonists and Stoics constantly allude to gems, and the flute-player lsmenias (ii.c. 437) purchased an emerald en graved with the figure of Amymone. One of the Ptolemies presented as a most precious gift his portrait engraved on an emerald to Dieullus; and Cleopatra had a gem with Bacchus. The style of engraving of this age is fine and noble. the hair indicated by 'fine wiry lines; the subjects are gen erally heroic. hut busts and portraits of regal. and historical personages appear. Sards, amethysts, and jacinths were in use.
Contemporaneous with the Archaic Greek school was the Etruscan, among whose products were scarabs entirely carved out of said, carnelian, and agate, with engravings often of exquisite work, but generally harsh, and sometimes of severe style, 'with subjects derived from the earliest Hellenic myths, and occasional inscrip tions in the Etruscan language, the names of the personages represented, seldom more than one figure appearing on the gem. The sub ject is surrounded with a guilloche or engrailed border, and the scarabs were pierced through their long axis, to set as rings or to wear as other objects of attire. The contents of Etrus can tombs show how the numerous imported gems, both Oriental and Greek, furnished the models to native artists. The imitation 'Isl and stones' and scarabs were sometimes of bone or composition. Similar scarabs, but of green Jasper and of Phoenician workmanship, have been found in Sardinia. The Romans of the later Republic collected and copied Etruscan, and especially Greek, engraved gems, largely set as rings. The device of Scipio Africanus was a head of Scyphax; that of Sulla, the submis sion of Jugurtha; of Pompey, a lion carrying a sword; and of CLesar, Venus armed with a dart. So greatly had the passion for these charm ing little works of art increased that Scaurus, the stepson of Sulla, had a collection of gems, dactyliotheca. Pompey sent the collection of Mithridates as an offering to the Capitol; CEesar, to outvie his great competitor, presented six such collections to the shrine of Venus Gene trix; and Marcellus, another to the cella of the Palatine Apollo. At the commencement of the Empire, the portraits follow the costume' and art of the period; the hair is expressed by broad strokes, the compositions rarely contain more than two figures. Artists of great merit, as Dioscorides, Apollonides, and Chronius, flourished at this age.